Love is Crystal Clear

FringeMan and I have a history of poorly celebrated anniversaries. It does not diminish our love or the forever after pledge we made almost fifteen years ago, but it does make us really bad romantics.

This lack of romance is mostly my fault. You see, my husband’s love language is camouflage and I married him during hunting season. Why did I think I could compete with frost covered fallen leaves and black bear? I was so naive. The day we were married, FringeMan wore camo under his tuxedo jacket.

Not really, but I am sure he thought of it. He went away bear hunting the weekend before we were married and the second weekend after.

Last year we set out to redeem love for married people everywhere. It was to be a celebration of ten united years. So what we were already on fourteen! Last year was all about ten.

Now this delayed gratification is fine for our present, but one day these years are going to catch up with us.

What happens when we need to celebrate fifty years? We won’t be ready for that until we are at least on our fifty-fourth anniversary, and by then, we might forget, or worse, we might lose all of our teeth. Good grief!

My anniversary is the only date night per year that we step it up from burgers to a steak. By the time we hit fifty years, we should be ordering Fillet Mignon. I need my teeth for that!

September 20, 2012 will be fifteen years of wedded bliss.

Ok, not every moment of every day is bliss. I will not lie to you. There’s been daily grind, misunderstandings, and head-butting over the last fifteen years, but I would not change one year of it. Maybe one day, but not one year.

I jest.

I love my husband.

Fringeman, do hear that?

I love you.

Even. After. This.

The other night I was laying in bed reading and my husband was up at his desk doing some work. In the book, the main characters were celebrating their fifteenth anniversary. It was their “Crystal” Anniversary.

Crystal Anniversary? I thought. I had no idea. This is such good news, because I like crystal. It’s all sparkly and it can make rainbows in sunlight. Can’t it?

The possibilities opened up a whole new world of sparkly romance.

“Honey.” I called out.

My husband looked over his shoulder, pen still in hand.

“The fifteenth anniversary is a crystal anniversary. You know, like fifty is golden and forty is silver.”

He nodded, but stopped looking at me.

“What should we get for our crystal anniversary?” I asked.

He shrugged his shoulders.

“Maybe a crystal necklace?”

“Maybe Crystal Light.” He said.

And I knew in my heart romance was dead forever.

The upside, on my fifteenth wedding anniversary I will be fully hydrated and calorie free.

Happy Anniversary! 15 years and no one’s died at someone else’s hands? Now, THAT’s a victory, I tell ya. 🙂 We celebrated 13 a few weeks back and without fanfare. We didn’t even exchange cards until we went out officially a few nights ago. I so hear that!

Did you know that for the crystal anniversary, the inexpensive gift are watches…we never did do the traditional gifts till our 15th, last year, and we bought watches(I guess the face might be crystal or glass?)

Thoroughly enjoyed the original story! Reminds me a little of our wedding–also cheap. Only our most expensive item was the photographer (who got the date wrong and almost didn’t show up), and the cake was brought from Scotland in a hat box!

As for our anniversaries? Dinner out (with the kids), and for gifts we usually rationalize an expenditure on the house.

Oh, and he arrived from Scotland November 13, we got engaged January 13 (my birthday–hence the engagement ring gift), and married July 13. We had met when he was in the States for 3 weeks the previous August.

Love the Crystal Light comment! We don’t ever do much for our anniversary, either. And, I’m okay with that. Life is about the everyday moments together, raising a family and navigating through all the ups and downs, growing together and sharing with one another. Ordinary days are the sacred stuff life is made of.

Lol…I can totally relate with your story! Last year was our 10th anniversary and I planned to take pictures in our wedding ensembles (that I modified of course:) and we still haven’t done it! (Our 11th anniversary passed too)…maybe on the 12th?

Hahaha, you are so funny! I love your husband’s response to getting crystal on your anniversary… I asked my husband if he wanted to that “whole traditional yearly gifts” thing and he just stared at me blankly 🙂